Appeal To Reason
by nicotheneko
Summary: When it all comes to what seems to be an end and darkness takes over, they still manage to survive and even manage to keep the prince of death smiling as he faces what he thought would be the end.
1. prologue

**Appeal To Reason.**

AN: Hey hey! Welcome back Bridges fans and new peeps here to check out the story! I hope you enjoy this. Feel free to review and PM me with any ideas, I'm always open for suggestions! 3

IMPORTANT!: this is set in a slightly alternative universe ignoring the entire Trials of Apollo series (sorry), I enjoy that series but I need Apollo to be a god for stuff and stuff I can't say without spoiling stuff.

Disclaimer: if it's not mine I don't own it, all credit to whoever does.

~Prologue~

Nico

I started to really hate Camp Half-Blood when Will wouldn't leave me the Hell alone, the superseded three days in the infirmary lasted almost three weeks and he was constantly diagnosing me with all these issues that I didn't even know existed. He let Jason know everything and they both turned into extremely over-protective mother hens about me. Sure it was nice to have someone care about me for once, but these two took it way too far. Yeah, I'm complaining a lot about it but the truth is I like it, Camp became home and before I knew it I was actually participating, like a normal summer camp and I was a normal teenage camper.

That is what scared me, the peace, the quiet, and how normal everything was; it only lasted for four months, a short time just like all peace in the demigod world. The signs were all there, ever since the first day of fall strange things happened little by little but no one noticed them at the time but it all added up and crap hit the fan by December. First there were strange dreams groups would be having at the same time, then people would get the same sickness and no one could explain it, and when the gods started to talk in November we all got worried.

And Now I lay half dead, surrounded by bodies and completely blind. The quest to try to stop the inevitable had gone wrong and it was all my fault.

Alright! There it is see you all for the first real chapter coming out next Friday!

~NicoTheNeko


	2. Chapter 1: A cadence Imperfect

Appeal To Reason

AN: Hello everyone! Here is chapter 1, please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

Trigger warning for self-harm, it is hinted and lightly talked about.

Ch 1

~A Cadence Imperfect~

Nico

The Romans really knew how to liven up a morning, by ten am the Hermes and Mercury cabin has pulled multiple pranks on most of the cabins. To sum up the chaos Chiron had purple hair and the Demeter cabin's plants were all alive and talking, clearly,the Hecate cabin helped with that one.

"Well, I am glad all of you are well rested and I hope that everyone is ready for the friendly game tonight," Chiron spoke at the head table, Reyna was standing by his side, he did not seem too bothered by the color of his hair. It is Friday, September 23rd, the day after the fall equinox. Hazel, Jason, and Percy sat at the table with me, we gave up all but the Zeus table for other cabins to use so that they didn't have to build on too many more tables. Percy and Jason called it "big three bros plus 1" since any unclaimed demigods would be sitting with us.

"We will be doing it in four teams since we have so many people I figured we can up the challenge again." He glanced over at us and pointed "Bromance over here and Hazel will all be on separate teams, we wouldn't want you all to single-handedly win."  
There was a roar of laughter and Percy pretended to faint across Jason's lap. At least Chiron had a sense of humor, though today it seems forced.

"Finally." He concluded, "The Apollo cabin will be sitting out to help those who are sick or injured, you all will stay in the infirmary but I need a few out in the field." There were only a few of the Romans that are still uneasy about the two camps friendship; they mostly kept to themselves and did not really cause issues.

"Hey, Nico," Jason said without looking at me, rather he was staring off behind me somewhere further into the mess hall. "Can you tell your boyfriend to stop staring at you, it weirds me out when he is always looking over here."

"he does stare at you a lot." Hazel said, at first she was uneasy about me not being interested in girls, but I eventually came out to her, Hades however had a much more interesting response to the topic of my sexuality. 

"Dude your staring right at him." Percy said eating an apple "That probably weirds him out."

I sighed " Oh now you defend him Percy… and he is not my boyfriend. He is probably just trying to make sure I am eating."

"He has been sleeping in your cabin…"  
"To help with nightmares!" I defended or tried to at least.

"Sure, from what I saw the other day in the infirmary I can only imagine what you would do in a cabin alone." Percy muttered and drank his orange juice. He winced and shot a look at Jason.

Jason added, "you too are almost always together."

I stood up to clear my plate and leave, speaking of the son of Apollo, I was supposed to get some more medicine from him earlier and have another check-up.

As I walked away I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at them "you two are just jealous." And with a wink, I got rid of the tray and gently smacked the side of Will's head.

He smiled, "I think you missed your doctor's appointment this morning."  
"well then." I said, "let's go get it over with."  
Most of the campers were cleaning up and filing out of the mess hall,

"Did you sleep well last night?" he asked as we walked across the green field; since hazel was sleeping in my, well our, cabin he did not join us.

I nodded "like a baby."  
However, I could tell that he did not believe me; he shook his head and looked away from me. "are we going to talk about what happened the other night?"  
"No."

"We should." He tried.  
"No."

He opened the door to the big house and we went down to the infirmary. Will had weekly tests and check ups for me to make sure everything was going smoothly, sometimes it felt more like therapy than actual medical issues.

"Nico, lay down please." He said "you know the drill."  
"will you be giving me kisses and not being able to control yourself this time?" I smirked and he pulled out some papers.

After a moment he pursed his lips and muttered "so you do want to talk about it."

"not really."  
"You were the one who pulled me into the kiss Nico, what did you want me to do? Get mad and pull away from a cute boy? Heck no." he said it without looking at me, I could tell he was having a hard time trying to find something in his desk drawers.

"Where do all my pens go?" he stood up. "Nico get your shirt off and pants off by the time I get back here. I need to check on those wounds."

"My legs are fine." I lied through my teeth.  
he glared at me through the door frame and said "I saw cuts on them through the rips in your jeans earlier. Don't lie to me."

 _Damnit!_ I did as he said anyway, there is no point in hiding them from him; in august he saw my thighs and was able to figure out what they were from I tried to lie but he saw right through me. He didn't judge me or hate me, he didn't try to tell me I was fucked up or insane. He just hugged me and took care of them. Unlike Percy who actually smacked me across the face and then cried, that whole scene was too confusing to deal with but I learned why and did my best to get better or at least hide it more. The curtains were open and the whole room was bright and warm.

The rest of the infirmary smelt like a hospital most of the time but the back rooms didn't, it smelled like vanilla and chamomile tea in here. Will often made me a cup of chamomile tea at night before he gave me sleeping medications. He said my body didn't produce melatonin or something and went out and got some vitamins for me, along with more because he claimed I was lacking everything, including life and love.

I think he just likes to be over dramatic.

The bed had no blankets for me to hide under, so I silently prayed no one but Will would come in.

Will came in with a cup full of Pens, and immediately started talking. "Ok have you been using your inhaler, has breathing been easier?" he dramatically sat down on his chair and wheeled it over to me doing a spin in the process.

"I don't need it."  
"your lungs sound like snake rattles that have been stabbed and have a million holes in them, it's an easy way for you to get ambrosia directly into your lungs, you need to start using it." he sighed "Tartarus's air had a toxic effect on you, please try."

"fine." I muttered. His blue eyes shone with worry, if I didn't try on my own he would get over protective and force me to do it anyway, it's not like I had much of a choice. He put his hands out and I put mine on top of his, they were warm, he closed his eyes and began to whisper something in latin.  
After one hour of various medical stuff he finally decided that we had enough for one day. "You can play tonight, but if you get dizzy for faint from doing that underworld-ly magic crap you sit out. Come to me if it gets too bad."

"are you going to be here or out in the woods area?" I asked while putting my pants back on, the healing rub he puts on my wounds was sticky and felt weird with jeans.

"Yes." He smiled and started to clean up the room.  
I stared at him and tried to glare but I couldn't stop myself from smiling slightly at his happiness, why does he always have to radiate joy and light? How did I end up getting stuck with this pain in the ass child of Apollo?

"I will be going back and forth Nico, to make sure my siblings are doing alright. At some point I have to let go of the leash and let them do their own thing." He explained.  
I smiled and out my shirt on "I would love for you to do that with me."

He walked over and sat down on the bed "No way in Hell death by. You need me."  
 _I wish I didn't._

I was too tired to come up with any snarky remarks for him, it was warm and the bed felt comfortable.

"how about you go back to sleep? I will wake you up at lunch." He said and put his hand on my forehead. I couldn't read him, first he is telling me to sleep at night and not sleep during the day, but now he is encouraging me to take a nap.  
But before I knew it sleep took over and I faded from the real world of consciousness.

Will

He slept like a cat in the sun, I wanted him to get up and go outside to participate in sports or get some exercise but he looked so tired and sad.

Over the past month he became stronger and healthier very slowly, his mood even got better, minus the extreme mood swings every now and then. His nightmares became less frequent and his skin now had a lovely olive tan. His eyes sparkled when he smiled and he would even wear a camp shirt with a long sleeve black shirt underneath. He had friends and he was alive, and that was worth all the sleepless nights and exhaustion. He was taller than me when he wasn't slouching and Piper cut his hair so he could see, but he still liked it long. Of course we still had a long way to go before he could be close to being better, physically it was not a problem but his mind was shattered and repaired and shattered again. He can and will get better but time will need to pass and I can't leave his side.

Kayla popped her head in, she was out of breath and gasping for air.  
"Four more campers are sick and vomiting again, their veins seem almost black and one of them is Roman."

I wanted to punch a wall but I smiled at her and got up to help. Four more, that would mean we have 12 campers with the same illness and I can't figure out what the cure is or what is wrong with them even.

Last week was the first case of whatever this is and it only spread, no pattern most of the campers didn't even interact often and it's not sticking to any particular cabin. Fevers, nausea, vomiting and loss of consciousness; however those symptoms weren't what really worried me it was the dark veins and black or dark brown substance that is found in the vomit.

Chiron told us "just do your best and heal them, let's not worry the other campers."

But a red flag went up when I noticed one of the new arrivals was Percy Jackson, if he gets sick that will raise a lot of eyebrows and people will get interested so I went to check on him first since my siblings were with most of the others.

"How do you feel?" I asked. He looked very pale and his eyes were barely opened.

His voice was quiet "don't tell mom…"  
I opened one of his eyes and shone a light in but his pupils were not reacting to it. His pulse was racing and I could tell he was having a hard time staying awake.

"Can you tell me how you…"  
"Poison." He said lightly "its like T…tarturus.." his voice trailed off. "water?"

I got up and went to the back room to get some water for him, five bottles at least. Water heals the son of Poseidon. Come to think of it I rarely see him drinking it, shouldn't he have a water bottle on him at all times? Wouldn't that help.  
I shook myself out of my thoughts and went back to checking on him. Slow reflexes and high fever as well as every other symptom. I cursed, this is so stupid how the hell is this happening. 

He looked at the water bottles but didn't lift a finger to get them, water. Was he not asking for water? Or was he telling me that the poison is in water and that is how its spread! Nice job detective Solace. I smiled and ran to Chiron with my idea, but stopped. We don't have one set water source and the water bottles are not tampered with.  
 _shit_ , _there goes that idea_.

 _What if Nico gets sick?_ i began to panic. None of the campers who were originally sick are better but the symptoms went mostly away.

I felt stupid and weak, I can't heal them; no magic worked on any of them. I went back to Percy who had managed to drink three water bottles. I checked his temperature 101 degrees. He ate the ambrosia and drank some nectar and told me he was going to sleep it off.  
One of my siblings was one of the new sick campers which were slightly unnerving, children of Apollo rarely get sick, I know it's not impossible but still it's strange.

Chiron wheeled into the room and came straight to me. "Good afternoon."

"I'm guessing you already know the issue at hand." I said, no point in small talk our campers are sick.  
He raised an eyebrow "Do you know what is causing it yet?"  
"No clue, I can't even tell you what it is. Percy said something about poison in Tartarus but that wouldn't effect everyone else here." I said, Kayla and joseph were running around putting cold towels on sick campers heads.

"how is Nico?" He asked, I always admired how Chiron remembers which campers are struggling and he does try to help them.

I nodded "he is a lot better, every day his progress increases." _I just wish he was happier_. I thought to myself. He pats my shoulder.

"Will if it gets much worse I'm going to need you to alert the campers and try to come up with a way of preventing it." He said "but I'm sure you will find a cure, you're very good at healing, the best." I smiled at the ground, at least he appreciates me.

I snuck into the very back rooms and gathered some vitamins and medicine for Nico, Thankfully the Stoll brothers are willing to help, of course Nico did threaten them first. The son of Hades gave them money and let extra to get whatever they want.

 _he's not so bad._ I heard them say. Sure Nico was scary when he is mad or using his powers but the rest of the time there is nothing to be afraid of.

Something smacked my butt hard, I turned to see Kayla with a towel rolled up smiling like a maniac. "Go stay with your boo, we have it in here now."

With a forced laugh I told her that he isn't mine, and she added "yet."  
Siblings, can't stand them but you can't live without them.

When I went back to check on Nico He was crying and curled up in bed.


	3. Chapter 2: Bridges

Appeal to Reason.

Bridges

Hello again! Here is chapter 2, I hope you enjoy. 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize  
TRIGGER WARNING. Self-harm and the likes may be mentioned.

Nico

It was only a nightmare but the wounds were real.

When I woke up, Will was nowhere to be found and my neck was bleeding. The girl in my dream scratched my neck but it wasn't real, it was just a dream right? I curled up on the bed and without thinking started to cry. I was alone, it was dark, I was scared.

 _Here I go again,_ I scolded myself, _crying like a baby because it's too dark and he isn't here for you._

 _You're a mess, a worthless, useless mess._

Then someone was hugging me and it was bright again, and warm.  
"It's okay." He said and pulled me into his lap "in here it's okay." But when he saw the blood he began to quickly clean up my neck.

"Stupid." I muttered "this is so fucking stupid!"  
I wanted to hate The son of Apollo, I needed him and I hated it. If he hadn't tried helping me I would be fine and not have to deal with these feelings. Not have to deal with these damn emotions. But here I was safe in his arms, he held me and it..it made me happy.  
This was the usual routine after a nightmare, he or Jason hold me until I calm down and then we go back to our usual day. Will began putting bandages on my neck and kissed it.

"is that normal for you to do to patients?" I asked quietly.  
he shook his head "No, just you."

That was all I needed, after all these years of being alone, after being in Tartarus, after being in the jar. All I need is someone. That's why Hades practically kicked me out of the Underworld and kept trying to force me to stay at camp, he would appear to my in dreams while I was on the run or here. "make friends", "try to talk to the living", "Smile more". _Fucking hypocrite._

Will continued to hug me, and it was nice. I don't have romantic feelings for him, no…no way in Hades! He is just an overbrearing mamma Hen to me and a friend. That's all…That's all I need.  
And I smiled, so did he.

"How about before lunch we go out." He said "there is a really cool place I think you might like."

I pulled away from him to try to calm down. "Where is it?"  
he put his finger to his lips "it's a secret."

Using his own shirt, he wiped my face and kissed my forehead. "thank you Nico."  
"For what?" I asked, it wasn't like him to thank me when I was acting upset.  
he sighed "Letting me help you." A hand ran through my hair. "I know it took a while but thank you. I wont hurt you, I swear on the river styx."

I know the thunder must have roared, because all the hair on my neck stood up. No promises, the last time… No. not again.

But I didn't say anything and just lay my head back down on his shoulder.  
"Hey Nico…" a head popped in the door which Will never closed. Hazel's caramel curls bounced and her eyes sparkled. "how are you feeling?"

My head shot up and I pulled away from the son of Apollo.  
She smiled even wider. "oh sorry am I interrupting?"

"No." Will smiled and stood up "just medical procedure."

With a wink he went back to being his normal self. _He is just a good friend who likes to be overly gay and tease me._

Will caught Hazel up on all my medical conditions but I tuned him out when he got to mental issues, im not inanse, im fine…im fine.

She gave me a hug and told me that I was going to be alright and left to go back to playing volleyball. Apperently there was a hardcore Roman vs Greek match and Reyna was kicking everyones butts. Hazel walked a girl who got spiked into the head with the ball by a roman and while she was here she decided to see me.

Soon we snuck out of camp, which was suprising that Will would want to take me out without Chirons permission. I guess he does not always follow the rules. He explained that when he was scouting during the war he saw this place. But he wouldn't tell me what it is. Upon seeing it I was amazed. There must have been a house here at once with someone who really cared about their landscaping. It was a clearing with one Willow tree and a small stream that has a bridge over it to get to the willow tree, and a swing in the willow tree where the leaves that would droop were cut off so it must be recently cared for.

"Katie comes down here and tends to it." he explained. "I showed it to her because I knew she could make it more lively. Now look, its like a mini magical land."

I was amazed, in the middle of the woods there was a happy little land all to itself. With butterflies and flowers, it was unreal.

Will was smiling at me and pulled me by the hand over to the bridge, he stopped and bent over the rail and pointed to the little fish. "they look like little slivers of gold. Shining in the sun, see how they glisten?"

A son of Apollo talking in a poetic way, it was charming. I nodded, the bridge was sturdy and and I liked to stand over the water and watch it move below me. and he glistened in the sun almost as much as the fish, he looked a little ridiculous wearing his medical clothes still but he was happy and so was i.

"Who else knows about this place?" I asked leaning down on the railing.  
"Katie, connor, me and now you." He said and a butterfly landed next to his hand. "we all decided to keep it a special date place."

The game did not go as planned when the hermes kids accidently caught a girls hair on fire. And chiron almost got shot with an arrow, and two campers went missing and one was found dead. But I was blamed because his veins were black and a black substance was coming from his eyes and mouth. And no one would talk to me except Jason, Will and Piper. The first 12 campers were better, not fully and they still had some symptoms and were required to take it easy.

All of the campers that got sick were males, and when the romans left the next day the camp began to panic. Because ten more got sick over night. Some were trying to blame the Romans, and Will was required to stand in front of everyone and explain how they have been getting the sickness for a while but it was covered as something not so…deadly.

That angered a lot of people but Will had a way of being able to calm everyone down. Except me, the looks were getting too much. But it wasn't me, I cant…I wouldn't do this to someone. They didn't want me to watch over the funeral and read the rites, they wanted me out.

But when it was discovered all the campers were having the same dream before they got sick, and I recognized the girl they all saw. But she has been dead since 1853; however all of it made since.

Evelyn is back, and she cant control her powers.


End file.
